Benefit dinner on June 15

On May 12, 2012, Pennie Eckard made the decision to see her doctor about recurring headaches.

After an emergency trip to the hospital, the 54-year-old mother was diagnosed with metastatic brain cancer. Doctors found seven tumors in her brain.

Since her diagnosis, those in Eckard’s family have dedicated their time and money to making sure she has the best care possible. Often, the best care possible translates to the most expensive medical bills possible.

To help relieve the stress of overwhelming medical expenses, Eckard’s family will host a benefit dinner for her on June 15. The event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. at Mainstreet Church in Walbridge.

Pennie Eckard

Michelle Fox, Eckard’s daughter, said the diagnosis came as a shock to her family.

“It came out of nowhere. She always had headaches but we didn’t think anything of it,” Fox said. “Three years ago she had skin cancer. But, they just removed the mole and that was the end of it. So when she went to the doctor’s for headaches it came as a surprise when they said that the tumors in her brain were most likely caused by the melanoma she had.”

The event will feature a spaghetti dinner, a silent auction, a raffle and live entertainment, she said.

Among the items that will be auctioned away are movie passes, spa packages, ballet lessons, tattoo gift certificates, laser skin rejuvenation, golf lessons, yoga passes and much more. Fox said gift baskets will also be raffled off.

The event is open to the public and the dinner costs $8 for adults and $4 for children. All money received from the dinner, auction and the raffle will go toward the medical expenses for Eckard and her family, Fox said.

In addition to the benefit dinner, Connxtions Comedy Club in Toledo has agreed to let Fox sell tickets to its June 29 Dave Landau presentation up until two weeks before the show. Most of the money taken will also go toward Eckard’s expenses.

“The tickets are $15 and Connections will take $5 from each, giving Mom $10,” she said. “I’m going to have the tickets at the dinner and I’ll have them on me at all times until two weeks before the show.”

Fox said anyone interested in purchasing the comedy tickets to benefit her mother can do so by emailing her at michellefox99@yahoo.com.

According to the National Brain Tumor Society Web site, “each year, over 190,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor.” Of those numbers, the National Cancer Institute said metastatic tumors are the majority with “about 17,000 Americans are diagnosed with primary brain cancer each year.”